This invention relates generally to communication systems and, more particularly, to a public safety communication system that enhances the detection of vehicles, including but not limited to locomotives.
Many persons, including pedestrians, drivers and occupants of vehicles, are killed or injured each year as a result of collisions with moving vehicles including, but not limited to trains or locomotives. Oftentimes, the collisions may be attributed to the persons being unaware of their proximity to the other vehicle (and hence being unaware of the danger of being struck by the vehicle) until it is too late to avoid the collision. Although the other vehicle may be equipped with warning mechanism(s) such as, for example, horns, whistles, lights, etc., such warning(s) may not be issued by the operator of the vehicle quickly enough, if at all, for the prospective injured persons to avoid the collision. Moreover, even if the warnings are otherwise issued in time, they may go unnoticed by the persons in danger of a potential collision due to poor lighting or weather conditions or poor audio conditions, perhaps resulting from the persons listening to the radio, personal stereo or the like, or being distracted by a conversation.
In the case of train collisions, most, if not all locomotives are equipped with a train whistle that is sounded upon the train approaching a heightened alert area, such as a railroad crossing. Typically, this is accomplished by an engineer operating the train whistle when the train approaches a landmark known as a whistle post, about xc2xc mile from the railroad crossing. Hence, the train whistle is designed to alert pedestrians or vehicles at a railroad crossing (or other heightened alert area) that a train is approaching. Oftentimes, the railroad crossing will also include gates or warning lights to alert persons of the approaching train. However, even if the railroad crossing is equipped with gates and/or warning lights, persons will often bypass the gates if they do not see the train or hear the train whistle. As has been noted generally above, there is a risk that the persons will not hear the train whistle if they are distracted, listening to the radio, etc. and, consequently, they may cross the tracks at their peril.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus that enhances the ability of persons to detect approaching vehicles, thereby accelerating their awareness and reaction to potential collision situations. Advantageously, the method and apparatus may be used for train or locomotive detection in a manner that is supplementary to existing train whistles, gates, lights, etc. The present invention is directed to satisfying these needs.